Neophobia
by DittyWrites
Summary: A heist gone awry forces two friendly acquaintances to see other in new lights as they hide together to avoid a widespread manhunt. Such conditions result in both men, each ostracized and judged by the world around them, coming to understand that they are far more compatible than either could have possible imagined. (Prequel to Atychiphobia/Monophobia/Chronophobia). (Scriddler)


The dim lighting of the private bar which was hidden away in the back rooms of the Iceberg Lounge gave everything within it a mysterious edge as the shadows of the various drinking and dancing couples were only offered brief illumination before moving on. Many of the booths lay empty as the majority of the regular patrons were otherwise occupied by the scantily-clad entertainment which the lounges owner, Oswald Cobblepot, had provided in the main dining room.

Currently lounging in one of the few occupied booths, Edward Nygma could only roll his eyes at the predictability of such people. Throw a little skin their way and they would trip over themselves to eat it up. Ozzie should have known better.

Making eye contact with the barman, he gestured to his empty glass and pulled out a crisp note from his inner pocket. The barman nodded in understanding and quickly started to prepare another drink and Edward smirked at the knowledge that his reputation for being a very good tipper would ensure some excellent service for the remainder of the night.

He was in an excellent mood, a meeting with his preferred real estate agent had saw his property portfolio increase with some very tasty new acquirements. He now owned a small apartment block in West Gotham which was proposed to make a definite profit return of at least double his investment over the next year.

As the barman gently deposited his new drink on the table, Edward slid the note into his hands with a nodded thanks.

Sometimes, it was nice to simply relax after a successful day. He did not have enough opportunity to do such things these days.

Sipping the expensive gin, he plucked the small lemon twist which was hanging gracefully from the side of the glass and deposited it inside the liquid to encourage the taste to infuse further. He was not a particularly big drinker but he certainly knew what he enjoyed and tonight he fully intended to treat himself to something a different that his usual whiskey.

Leisurely taking in the tasteful décor of the bar, he made a mental to note to ask Ozzie which decorating company he had employed to design the surroundings. He fully intended to set up one of the apartments in his new building as a private safe house and the earthy tones mixed with the electric darker shades was appealing to him.

"What are you drinking?"

His thoughts were interrupted by a low voice and he refocused his attention on the dark figure who had taken a seat across from him in the small booth.

Raising an eyebrow at the brazen act, Edward pulled the glass to his lips again and took a very small sip, "Tonight? Gin."

As he answered, his eyes zeroed in on the figure in an attempt to deduce who had taken it upon themselves to interrupt his privacy. While the face was obscured and the voice comically deepened, it was obvious that the figure was tall, even taller than Edward himself, and also thin if the sleeves on the dark brown jacket which draped over their frame was anything to go by.

Pulling off their gloves and placing them gently on the table, the figure gestured pleasantly to the drink, "Let me buy you one."

Chuckling, Edward shook his head, "I will respectfully decline that offer, thank you. I always pay for my own drinks as it will be inevitably cheaper than whatever it is you are trying to get from me in return."

"And who had implied that I am trying to get anything out of you?"

Leaning across the small table, the features of Jonathan Crane came into relief and although his mouth was set into a straight line, his eyes were amused.

"Hello, Edward."

"Jonathan." Edward greeted in response, mildly irritated that he had failed to place the scientist.

No one else would be as dramatic when a simple 'hello' would have sufficed.

Well, aside from himself that is.

"How does the day find you?"

As Jonathan shed his outer coat, Edward indicated for the barman to bring over two fresh drinks. He was unaware of what Jonathan drank but he was sure that the scientist would not wilfully reject a free glass of expensive gin. Especially if he were after something.

"I am well. My recent experimentations have all come to some level of fruition and I am confident that they will continue to excel." Jonathan answered, tilting his head as he examined the genius seated across from him. "And yourself? It has been months since our paths have crossed and I have heard very little through the usual channels."

"I too have been having a good run of luck recently," tossing back the last of gin, Edward tapped the edge of his mouth with a napkin, "it seems to be going around."

While friends were few and far between in their profession, Edward was surprised to learn that it had been so long since he had last been in contact with Jonathan. While not 'friends' in the social or even literal sense, they shared a mutual appreciation for the lives they had chosen to lead and the jobs they had worked together had always been pulled off without a hitch.

And in their line of work that was as close to a friend as they were likely to get.

Jonathan waited for the bartender to deposit his drink on the table before lifting it and inclining it towards Edward, "Long may it continue."

"I will drink to that."

Both men downed a small amount of liquid before settling into more comfortable positions.

"So why have you chosen to join me here tonight? We have not shared a drink together since we destroyed the main lobby of the GCPD in that chemical attack."

Pausing, Jonathan swirled his gin within the glass, "I have a need for your services."

"Why, Jonathan, I never imagined that you thought of me in that way!" Edward exclaimed, unable to help his natural desire to irritate others.

Frowning, Jonathan chose to ignore the immaturity, "I need you to hack into the Wayne Enterprise building next to the Sionis Mill to locate a certain set of documents for me. You will be appropriately compensated for the work of course."

Interesting.

"Documents for what and why do you want them?"

"It is not your concern."

Edward smirked, "Well of course it is not, but I would still appreciate an answer. I have no desire to steal whatever it is you are after. Satiate my curiosity."

Sighing in annoyance, Jonathan explained.

"Wayne Enterprises keeps an itinerary of all its laboratory equipment within one of the safes in that building. I intend to relieve them of it. In terms of its equipment, Wayne Enterprises has some of the most advanced machinery and chemicals available and I feel they would be better suited to my own personal needs."

"Is it a digital copy or physical?" Intrigued, Edwards' mind was already whizzing with possibility.

"Definitely physical but there may also be a hard drive or some other digital copy. You are welcome to any other items which may be held within the safe." A generous offer.

Placing his hands beneath his chin, Edward pretended to consider his options. He had already decided to assist Jonathan, both the challenge and the possible reward appealed to him and if he kept a strong enough eye on the scientist and his attempts to psychoanalyse or possible dose him with toxin then he should have no problems.

"It will not be as simple as committing a remote hack," he offered slowly, "Wayne Enterprise buildings cannot be easily hacked from outside. I would need to be be present within the building at the time."

"That is hardly an issue."

"But your choice of henchman is. No offence, Jonathan, but the brutes you hire into your service do not have the gentle touch needed for this operation. I would highly recommend that we limit it to those present at this table. I can hack the security and safe if you can ensure we remain undisturbed."

The music in the bar switched from its previous blare to a jaunty jazz tune which Edward found himself humming along with as he waited for Jonathan to come to a decision.

Pursing his lips, Jonathan mulled Edwards' words over, "I see no reason why that should be an issue."

"Excellent," Edward clapped his hands together in faux excitement, "now I do not think I need to warn you against trying anything untoward, Jonathan." His eyes narrowed. "If I found myself being thrown out of a window again I would be very upset and I do not think I would react quite as reasonably as I did the last time."

Jonathan matched his narrowed eyes, "If you consider wiping out one of my private accounts and wasting the money on utter foolishness to be reasonable then I would hate to see you unreasonable," he grumbled, "but my need for these documents is higher than my desire to betray you."

Tapping his hands on the table, Edward muttered, "I am happy to hear it. Do you need me to provide a base of operations?"

"Preferably, yes. My current safe house is not fit for guests."

Edward wrinkled his nose in distaste even as a small smile made its way on to his face, "I have recently acquired a new safe house in an apartment block so we can use that while it is still an empty shell."

"Ideal. Location?"

Pulling out a small scrap of paper and a pen, Edward quickly jotted down the address and presented it to Jonathan who slid it into his trouser pocket without even glancing at it.

"Meet me at that location two days from now," Edward suggested, "and that will give me enough time to gain the appropriate information which we will need to organise an infiltration."

"Excellent," pleased with Edwards' compliance, Jonathan was as courteous as could be as he flattered the known narcissist, "I have complete faith in your ability to pull this off."

Beaming at the praise, Edward downed the remaining liquid in his glass.

"Now, as much as I have enjoyed this little friendly catch-up," standing from his seat, Edward picked up his jacket and draped it over his arm, "I have had quite the successful day and I had intended to keep the celebration going well into the night. So I wish you a good day, Jonathan, and I will meet you at the safe house in two days."

"Leaving so soon?" Jonathan inquired, surprised that Edward appeared to be calling his drinking to an end.

Shaking his head, Edward glanced towards the main bar, "I am simply moving over to one of the barstools. That attractive gentleman there had not once travelled through to view the tasteless lewd circus next door and I intend to seduce him and bring him home with me."

Caught off-guard by Edwards' lack of shame, Jonathan was embarrassed to find that he felt a delicate blush settle on his cheeks as he understood Edwards' intentions.

"I see," he responded, emotionless, "well I shall meet you at the safe house at the scheduled time. Goodbye, Edward."

Slicking a hand through his hair to ensure that it was in place, Edward offered an absent-minded 'goodnight' as he walked away towards the bar.

x-x-x-x-x

Having taken Edwards' place in the secluded booth, Jonathan was enjoying his own drink as he worked through the various plans he would have to arrange for this theft to be a success. Both his offensive and defensive arsenals were lacking at the moment so he had two days to build up his supply of usable fear toxin and gas bombs.

However, despite his efforts to keep his mind on task he found that his eyes inevitably wandered over to the bar and the two men who were deep in conversation on two of its stools.

It had taken Edward less than a minute to engage the man in conversation and both were talking animatedly as Edward clearly flirted his way into his graces. Despite the various neuroses which afflicted him, Jonathan had seen first hand how charming Edward could be when he wanted something. Edwards' silver tongue had managed to acquire things which his own threats had been unable to and it was as impressive as it was infuriating.

But Edward had surprised him with his choice of partner for the night.

They had been casual acquaintances for a few years now and throughout the dozen or so plots they had hatched together, either directly or indirectly, it had never occurred to him that Edward could possibly have an interest in other men. He had both witnessed and been a victim of Edwards' various flirtatious comments but he had written them off as a side-product of his narcissism, an assumption that others would naturally be attracted to him.

Which, irritatingly, was somewhat understandable as Edward Nygma was an attractive man.

With his lean frame, presumably toned from his various exercise, and a height which many men would kill for, he was certainly well-proportioned. His face was handsome too, with inquisitive eyes which expressed his every though, and lips which were almost feminine in their plumpness. It was difficult to deny that Edward Nygma was an attractive man but Jonathan was still surprised to view his open bisexuality.

Jonathan had never seen the point in defining his own sexuality. His great granny and her twisted conservativeness and hatred for all humanity had spewed so much hate against all the relationships of the world that he had been woefully unaware of the various intricacies of sex and sexual relationships for the majority of his schooling years. A fact which his bullies had latched onto in their school yard torments.

Perhaps due to this, women had been the default throughout his late teens with the very idea of being with a man not even entering into his mind until he had properly educated himself after her timely murder. College had been his first encounter with the same sex and he had discovered that he was not particularly averse to either sex and considered them both in equal measure.

However, given his predilections and appearance, he found it somewhat difficult and frustrating to meet people whom he had any genuine interest in. Many found him to be too intimidating and avoided his presence when possible. Not that he felt he was unattractive, rather he found his own features quite acceptable, but in order to get close to someone he had to put on a false front and keep an iron hold on it the entire time they were together, lest he frighten them away.

So watching the ease with which Edward leaned in and whispered something in the blonde mans ear, causing him to stammer out a response and blush profusely, left Jonathan with a keen awareness of his own lack of social graces and ability to connect with others. He had very few friendly acquaintances in the world and he held no sexual attraction to any of them outside of a basic physical appeal, such as Harleen Quinzel.

It had been over six months since his last sexual partner, a woman, whom he had encountered at a psychology convention which he had elected to attend in disguise. They had held some very interesting discussions on hemi-spatial neglect and its influence on behaviour over a few glasses of wine before escaping to one of the hotel rooms on the upper levels. He had then left immediately afterwards.

An unfamiliar feeling wound its way around Jonathans' insides, coiling tightly as Edward placed a hand on the mans inner thigh. The feeling was warm and it caused him to clench his jaw and place his glass down a little more harshly than he intended.

It was jealousy.

He was jealous.

Surprised by the feeling, he paused to assess it.

Edwards' ability to charm and connect with people was something which he had always lacked as a skill and it was only natural to feel jealous of such a thing? Or perhaps it was the fact that Edward would be receiving physical relief from another human tonight while he would be limited to whatever pleasure he could bring himself?

Either way, he convinced himself, the jealousy was in no way, shape or form caused by the fact that Edward Nygma would be having sex with another person.

Edward Nygma, as physically appealing as Jonathan may casually regard him, with all his unbearable qualities was in no way a reasonable candidate for a potential sexual partner.

Happy with his own conviction, Jonathan downed the remainder of his drink and forced himself to consider the task at hand.


End file.
